2015 AUSTRALIAN GP: HAMILTON ON POLE, MERCEDES AMG 1.4 SECONDS AHEAD

Lewis Hamilton has claimed pole position for the Australian Grand Prix from his Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg. Hamilton now becomes the most successful driver in the history of qualifying at Melbourne, with four pole positions at the circuit. Since 2005, the race has been won from pole six times, while the lowest placing from which the grand prix has ever been won is seventh.

The Mercedes drivers, plus Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, were the only people to get through Q1 using the medium tyre only. The teams all switched to the soft tyre for Q2, but Mercedes was the only team to complete the session with just one run.

Hamilton’s pole lap, claimed right at the end of Q3, ensures that Mercedes has been fastest in every session of the Australian Grand Prix held so far. Hamilton’s pole time of 1m26.327s was more than three seconds faster than fastest time of the weekend in 2014: 1m29.375s, set in FP3 as qualifying was wet. Hamilton was also fastest in FP3 this morning, using the soft compound tyres.